On this weeks' episode, we are joined by two senior officers of a university, as well as by MSA Design's Director of Preservation and Historic Rehabilitation to discuss a mid-century modern national landmark - the Mater Dei Chapel in Cincinnati. Learn more about the Chapel by clicking this link: https://www.msj.edu/about/facilities/mater-dei-chapel/index.html
Jeffrey Briggs is the Chief Financial Officer of Mount Saint Joseph University in Cincinnati, Ohio. Jeff holds a Bachelor of Science in Business, Accountancy, and Management Information Systems from Miami University, an M.B.A. from The Ohio State University, and is a Certified Public Accountant. After a career in public accounting with EY, Jeff has worked in Higher Education finance roles for nearly 20 years. He has been in his current role at the Mount since 2017. Jeff has served several not-for-profit Board of Trustees and finance committees.
In his spare time, he can usually be found at the Westside Brewery on Tuesday nights for trivia with his fellow dad-bros on "Team Bad Dad Joke." He resides in Green Township, Ohio with his wife Judith and their two college-aged daughters.
Sister Karen Elliott is the Chief Mission Officer of Mount Saint Joseph University. A native of Dayton, Ohio, Sister Karen attended Julienne High School prior to attending Wright State University where she earned her bachelor’s degree in education with an emphasis on Learning Disabilities and Behavior Disorders. During these years she earned eight varsity letters in volleyball, basketball, and softball. In 1980 Karen entered the Sisters of the Precious Blood. Her graduate studies include a master’s degree in theology from St. Michael’s College in Colchester, Vermont received in 1993, and a Doctor of Ministry degree with a concentration in Sacred Scripture from Barry University in Miami, Florida in 2004.
Sister Karen has ministered as a teacher, Director of Religious Education, a youth minister, an athletic director, campus minister, as well as collegiate positions as chair of religious studies and full professor. Sister Karen has served as a faculty presenter on Sacred Scripture in the Lay Ministry Formation Program and a homiletics assessor for the Permanent Diaconate Program in the Diocese of Toledo. Sister Karen was a visiting professor Mumbai, India and was a presenter for the Australian Catholic University’s Campus Ministry Team in Melbourne. She authored the book, Women in Ministry and the Writings of Paul, published in 2010 by Anselm Academic. In a non-theological aspect of her life, Sister Karen was inducted into the Dayton Amateur Softball Commission’s Hall of Fame in September 2006 in recognition of her softball career.
Madeline "Maddie" Williams is the Director of Preservation and Historic Rehabilitation at MSA Design. Maddie leads the Historic Preservation practice firm wide for MSA and serves as a resource to building owners, contractors, architects, and agencies on strategies to renovate and redevelop historic structures. This includes advising on historic building assessments, grant applications, historic tax credits, and developing strategies to rehabilitate historic buildings.
A native of Connecticut, her junior ice hockey career led to a scholarship at Lake Forest College in Chicago. While at Lake Forest, she was named captain of the Forester Varsity Women's Ice Hockey Team. Her interest in Preservation was sparked while surrounded by the architecture of Chicago and led her to complete a bachelor's degree in architectural history. She then went on to earn a Master's in Historic Preservation at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
A self-proclaimed "Liberal Preservationist", Maddie believes that historic buildings should 'tell their story', but also be free to be adapted for modern uses. Maddie, her husband, and two daughters reside in a small, historic town on the east side of Greater Cincinnati.
